December 2018 Eugene Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Eugene Rent Report. Eugene rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Eugene rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

December 2018 Eugene Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Eugene Rent Report. Eugene rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Eugene rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

Eugene rents decline sharply over the past month

Eugene rents have declined 0.6% over the past month, but have been relatively flat at 0.3% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Eugene stand at $820 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,080 for a two-bedroom. This is the second straight month that the city has seen rent decreases after an increase in September. Eugene's year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of -0.2%, but trails the national average of 1.3%.

Rents rising across cities in Oregon

Throughout the past year, rents have remained steady in the city of Eugene, but other cities across the entire state have seen rents increase. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in Oregon, 9 of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of -0.2% over the past year. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

Looking throughout the state, Hillsboro is the most expensive of all Oregon's major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $2,010; of the 10 largest cities in the state that we have data for, Portland, where a two-bedroom goes for $1,320, is the only major city to see rents fall year-over-year (-0.6%).

Beaverton, Gresham, and Corvallis have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (1.6%, 1.6%, and 1.4%, respectively).

Eugene rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide

Rent growth in Eugene has been relatively stable over the past year - some other large cities have seen more substantial increases; in contrast, rents in a few cities have actually declined. Eugene is still more affordable than most large cities across the country.

Eugene's median two-bedroom rent of $1,080 is below the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.3% over the past year compared to the stagnant growth in Eugene.

While rents in Eugene remained moderately stable this year, similar cities saw increases, including Phoenix (+3.2%), New York (+2.3%), and Denver (+1.9%); note that median 2BR rents in these cities go for $1,060, $2,530, and $1,340 respectively.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Eugene than most large cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,100, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Eugene.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.